"Proximity to East Village, but not pleasant in and of itself"

While Union Square is one of the city's nicest spots, with its farmers' market, generous splash of greenery, and nearby wealth of bookstores, cinemas, and clothing stores, its southern border becomes far less pleasant the further east one goes. While around and below Astor Place, the endearingly gritty-gentrified feeling of the East Village prevails, with some of the city's best low-cost (but rising) dining, far less scenic is East 14th Street. A major transport street, with numerous bus and subway stops, this wide thoroughfare is filled with cheap neon-signed fast food joints and corner-store pharmacies, a far cry from the flea markets, boho theatres, and falafel restaurants available a few blocks further south. As a convenient, well-lit way to walk from the East Village into Union Square at night, it's a worthy option, but it is far less of an attraction as a destination in its own right. If you're looking to purchase or rent in the area, consider heading further south - East 10th, 9th, or 8th Streets are good options, as are the cafes lining avenues A, B, and C. That said, if you're looking to buy electronics, the stretch of 14th Street just east of Union Square has a number of appliance and electronic stores.

"All the kids are doing it"

East 10th isn't the prettiest block in the city. And, there aren't the most exciting options on the street, but east of First Ave is pretty hip nowadays. The block between Uni and Broadway has a pretty good Italian restaurant called Il Cantinori. Every time I walk past it, I think of the Sex and the City where Carrie spent her birthday alone. Upon moving to NY, I was flummoxed by Stanford's comment that there are two Il Cantinori's and he went to the wrong one: the other one is about 2 blocks away. I won't stop liking the show over the offense but it's pretty funny.
I always wondered why Greenwich is so much uglier than the West Village, and I finally found out when I was researching the building at the corner of 10th and Broadway that houses that weird "Silver Spur" diner. The building is called Randall House after the owner whom bequeathed much of the land 10 - Waverly from 4th to 6th Avenues to a society based in North Carolina. This stretch of land, apparently, is the approved aesthetic of people in the Carolinas. The building across the street used to be a cheap hotel that housed a lot of struggling actors whom would later become quite famous. It is now part of NYU (as most of the Village is). They seem to love destroying cool stuff and then giving it to students. The building across Broadway from Silver Spur was owned by the "meanest man alive" according to historical writings about him. I find that hilarious. He's dead now. The Grace Church is directly across the street. It is the most beautiful thing on this street -- and one of the most beautiful churches in the city. The block east of 4th has some really beautiful rowhouses and townhouses from the 19th century. Pretty much all of the numbered blocks between 4th and 2nd match the aesthetic of the West Village and they are so beautiful. I recommend everyone walk up and down these streets in the fall when the leaves are falling. Alphabet City is quite pretty starting at around 10th street. And, because it was gentrified pretty severely, there are a ton of really hip bars and restaurants in this area. I recommend Moustache Cafe for excellent Middle Eastern Food. Tompkins Square Park is here and it's one of my favorite parks in the city: during the day. Like any park in NYC, don't hang out here at night.

"Was once a block to be reckoned with -- now, it's a semi-cool block."

The block between 5th and Uni is a very grand block. Some of the architecture on the inside and out of these apartments just can't be beat. And, apparently, historical people agreed. Eleanor Roosevelt kept an apartment here. The Beaux Arts Building (which is so beautiful, you can't miss it) housed Marlon Brando for a number of years and it's in about half of Woody Allen's films amongst several films in general. 21 East 11th is the site where Edith Wharton's sister in law had her famous regular literary salons which included John Singer Sargent (my favorite painter), Henry James and neighbor Teddy Roosevelt. It must have been incredible to be a fly on that wall. The Albert, just across Uni, was another huge artists' building with residents such as John Phillips, Frank Zappa, Thomas Wolfe and Robert Louis Stevenson. They all wrote pretty iconic things while living at this address -- California Dreamin' being one of them. The rest of the block seems to be entirely made up of antique stores. Honestly, that's all there are. The one at the corner of Broadway was once the best hotel in New York -- all the presidents used to stay here. 11th stops for a block at Broadway for what is now Grace church. It's the most beautiful church in the city, in my opinion. It's Gothic and scary and amazing. Two of my favorite places are on the block between 4th and 3rd. Webster hall has been around since the mid 19th century and has remained since its inception, a concert hall. I saw Owen Pallett here and it was amazing. The venue is so small, you can't possibly miss anything. Village Pourhouse is a really rowdy sports bar that I can't help but love. We go there every Sunday for football and never have anything less than a blast. There's another church that takes up almost the entire block between 2nd and 3rd and it's pretty much the polar opposite of Grace, aesthetically. It used to be a church for only the elite, erected by the Stuyvesant family in the late 18th century. The family tomb is still there and a recent descendant was laid to rest in the 1960's (pretty awesome). It's supposedly haunted by Peter Stuyvesant. Apparently, you can here his peg leg hitting the cobble late at night. The cool thing about this church besides all of that is that you can see how high up the streets used to be. The road used to be flush with the cobblestone courtyard. East of 1st Ave is starting to have a come uppance thanks to "Rent" -- according to a friend that has lived here for many moons. It's definitely safer but long time residents complain that it's getting too Disneyland over here. I still think it's pretty sketchy at night on a weekday.

"Pretty commercial area"

East 13th is pretty busy all the time because of it's proximity to Union Square. There are a lot of residential spaces, of course, but I wouldn't really want to live here. It's just too much noise and too many people. My favorite Coffee House in the West Village has a branch at 13th between 5th and Uni. It's called Joe the Art of Coffee. The coffee is seriously good, the crowd is always good and the music is always good. You can't really beat this place as far as a great coffee shop goes. There's a lot of New School happening on this block, though, so just keep in mind that there are gonna be a lot of students hanging around any of these places (i.e. Joe, The bagel shop, the deli). The corner of 13th and Broadway marks a really beautiful building called The Roosevelt Building. It was built in 1893 and it's architecturally glorious in the old kind of way. There is a Cosi on the ground floor of the building that I often go to when I'm working. They have ample seating, healthy food and free wifi. And, this particular Cosi actually has a bar which I find weird but kinda cool. It's a great place to eat, get some work done and people watch because the area is full of street traffic. Directly across the street is a giant movie theatre. It's always crowded but it's the theatre that I go to most often (seeing as there aren't any on the west side now). It's the most accessible movie theatre downtown, and, luckily they show a lot of movies so you can actually get a seat if you get there early enough. Apparently, it has always been a theatre of some form -- Newland attended a show at this site in Age of Innocence -- so, obviously Edith Wharton was a fan. !3th between 3rd and 4th is a really arty block. It houses the Classic Stage Company which is an enormously popular off-Broadway Theatre company. A lot of famous people have performed here. Directly next door is Peridance which is one of the biggest schools in the city for Ballet and Modern Dance. I have taken a number of classes here and they are serious about their dance. There are no beginner classes. Everyman coffee is a coffee shop for would-be artists and that's right here too. By would-be artists what I mean is hipsters. The place is crawling with them. The block between 2nd and 3rd is very commercial. There's a Kiehls store, Momofuku (an insanely popular noodle bar which I will never understand -- Ippudo is so much better), and some hair salons. There is one peculiar thing about this block, though, there is a vacant lot and a vacant brownstone -- or, at least last time I checked it was still vacant. Doesn't sound that strange, I know, but nothing is ever vacant in New York -- especially not a whole house and a plot of land. 2nd Ave used to be an open field where they would hang people so I wouldn't go walking there at night if you're afraid of ghosts. To be honest, I wouldn't go past 2nd Ave at night for any reason. The former Alphabet City may be picking up as a whole, but north of 10th still scares the bejeezus out of me. Even during the day.

"A lot of history, bars, people and traffic"

East 14th Street is pretty much always a nightmare when it comes to both foot and car traffic. There are a lot of chain places on this street such as one of the only downtown Taco Bells and Wendys. There's also a Whole Foods, Forever 21, Nordstrom Rack, Trader Joes, McDonalds (they're friggin everywhere). So, if you want something fast and easy, East 14th is your spot. If you want to not have to deal with a crowd, avoid 14th at all costs. Because of the convenience of the stores and the abundance of public transportation, 14th is perpetually flooded with people. . . especially around Union Square. 212 14th is of a little interest to me because I recently watched the HBO movie about Bettie Page. The sister and brother team that ran a cheesecake and bondage photo shop (weird) that first featured Bettie Page was here. This is the place she got her first "break." Between 2nd and 1st is a bar called Crocodile Lounge. I've only ever been to its sister, Alligator Lounge (cute, huh?) but I always enjoy myself at the place and they're pretty much identical. The niche about this place is that for every beer you buy you get a free mini wood-fired pizza and you know what? They're actually not half bad. It's a great place for people on a tight budget who like pizza and beer. The First Avenue L train stop was the stop that pretty much changed the trajectory of Williamsburg. Once this was put in, Williamsburg started becoming cool. Fun fact about 1st and 14th is that right where that intersection is now, there used to be the private skating pond of the Stuyvesant family. There are a lot of huge commercial buildings on East 14th including bank headquarters and the Con Edison building. And, then there's Stuy Town all the way to the east. The apartments are huge and modern and the prices are semi-decent for how big they are. But, man, that neighborhood is so ugly and barren, I just wouldn't want to live there.

"Calmer then 10th, Similar to 12th Street"

East 11th Street has retained more from the 90's than other parallel east-west thoroughfares. It's calmer year round, and the block between 1st and 2nd avenue is nice to walk on because of the large school yard that affords views through the block to East 12th. Part of the street was renamed for a woman who was electrocuted to death near the corner of 1st avenue in the early 2000's. Overall, a good walking street, with generally low traffic speeds.

"Not very trendy, feautures some college-budge friendly restaurants"

The upper streets of the East Village are pretty much populated by a wealthier crowd, though there are a few twenty-somethings who maintain the far eastside of the street (at the far eastside of the East Village). Yet just like any East Village street, there are plenty of restaurants to visit, and the business scenery is constantly changing.

"Fun, Bright, Great Bubble Tea"

I love this street, its one of the most fun areas to go out in the East Village. East 11th street not only the always packed and exciting Webster Hall, but also a multiplex that shows main stream and indie movies alike. On E 11th and 3rd ave there is a great bubble tea house called Sts Alps Tea House that has a wide variety of delicious teas to pick from, not to mention some delicious Hong Kong cuisine. There are some great markets on E 11th street too, including an organic market and a Japanese market. It is such a fun street to visit, in the daytime or at night. During the day, it's a great browsing street. I highly recommend coming by here!

"Something For Everyone"

I love this street. Elephant and Castle is a wonderful place for brunch. Try the poached eggs and avocado salad!! The village never disappoints, as it is rich of the unique culture which draws people from around the world to New York. An artistic neighborhood, you’ll find many small boutiques nearby and if you need some art supplies, go to New York Central Art Supply. As it is close to NYU, it has many of the conveniences of a college neighborhood, though isn’t terribly overrun by students. There are plenty of bars nearby if you’re looking for a happy hour drink! This is a wonderful neighborhood, and I think there is something for everyone!